Sabremetrics are beloved in baseball. Websites like Fangraphs, BaseballSavant, and Baseball Reference have brought the sport to a new level. Fans now look at not just batting average and ERA, but also OPS, BABIP, FIP, and so many other key metrics that are as thick as the yellow pages.
In an age of sabremetric dominance, some macro-categories of the game still get left behind. The largest among those is baserunning. How many bases are stolen? How fast are your baserunners? Do you score more often than your competition due to speed and decision-making? It is a highly impactful category, and it's up to us to bring it to the forefront.
Now, why is this important regarding the Nationals? It is important because the Washington Nationals are dominating around the baseball diamond this season. Per Fangraphs, they are 2nd in the MLB in "BsR" — "Base Running Runs Above Average."
When expressed in simpler terms, the Nationals' plus-5.8 rating is quite simple. BsR takes into account key factors such as stolen bases, taking extra bases above expectation (such as going from 1st to 3rd when many players would only get to 2nd), beating out double plays, and converting sacrifice flies into runs.
The Nationals have scored 5.8 more runs per game due to baserunning actions alone. It is a smaller value-add than those metrics found in hitting, but it is noteworthy. The Nationals are adding about 0.1 runs per game around the bases. Any positive actions bring stress-free baseball, and we like that.
Nationals Players Surprise Among the MLB's Fastest
The MLB has speedsters left and right. Bobby Witt Jr., Byron Buxton, and Trea Turner are all very quick. By no surprise, the top MLB player in BsR is Witt Jr., the MVP candidate himself. In second place? Nasim Nunez of the Washington Nationals. In a year that had fans questioning Nunez as a starter, he provides positive action, including 100th-percentile baserunning (per StatCast) and 89th-percentile fielding. How about that for athleticism?
Beyond Nunez, the Nationals are still very relevant around the bases individually. Jacob Young, who has played 72 games, ranks 19th in BsR, and James Wood ranks 22nd. For a team that is 1-of-30 (3%) MLB teams, the Nationals command 10% of the top 30 in this key metric.
Now, that metric is also subjective, as it's the measure of Fangraphs' own rating. Nunez on Statcast rates even better. He is the No. 1 MLB player in "Baserunning Runs," tied with a plus-5 value. Witt Jr. is 7th, while Young and Wood do actually fall on the platform, ranking 41st and 51st, respectively.
The Nationals are thriving in baserunning. To show in more 'everyday' numbers, they have 76 team stolen bases on the year. That is also 2nd in the MLB, trailing just the Miami Marlins (81).
It is all so great to see positives stack up across the Nationals' stat sheet. The baserunning numbers are another big win for a 2026 season that sees the Nationals team far outperforming expectations. They currently have a 36.3% chance to make the postseason as of June 18.
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